Pages

Thursday, December 9, 2010

How to Make a Winter Shelter for an Outdoor Cat

This blog entry was originally posted 1 year ago. I have added additional commentary and photos that I thought may be helpful.

We did it! We did it! We made Smokey, our outdoor cat a winter shelter. I was/am so concerned about her welfare outside that I did some internet research and I found instructions on the Spay and Stay website. While we were making the shelter, my husband suggested making a video of the process. So here it is. I hope this is helpful for other cat lover's that are in need of the same information. Credit for the original instructions goes to Jim and Nancy at Spay and Stay.

Additional Comments to the Original Blog Post on12/9/10

So we had this shelter out last winter and Smokey would not go in it. I think we may have made the tube opening too small for her. That or she was just too spooked to try it. I have had feedback from other cat owners, though, that have had their outdoor cats use it. My sister in NY told me she had a female cat that just had kittens and that the whole family stayed in the shelter for the winter. So it does work.

Here are some photos of my cat Motor, showing us how it works.

First, we have to have our older cat Tiger, make sure his younger brother Motor has made it inside safely.

Yes, he sure did.

And he is looking pretty comfortable in there.

But now it is time to come back out.

You can see that the original outdoor shelter has a lot of insulation to it to keep a cat warm._________________________________________________

I had a comment left on You Tube by Catweedhigh that I thought might be helpful:

"I use plastic flower pots, for the tunnel in, the vinyl bigger ones plants come in from nurseries, and cut the bottom out, leaving about half inch around the perimeter in the bottom. That lip left in the bottom can be used to secure it with screws or bolts to a wooden feral housing unit or even a plastic storage container. Or, you﻿ can reverse it, since they're usually tapered, bigger at the top than bottom, and insert the bottom﻿ through from the inside, which makes it also easy to secure."________________________________________________

Since Smokey is spending this winter in our yard again, I had to come up with something, at least to protect her from the winds and rain.

So here is outdoor shelter #2. No styrofoam and hay for insulation, and no tube entrance. But a larger opening and lots of dry blankets to sleep on. This one seems to be working out better for Smokey. She is actually using it.

45 comments:

That is a great shelter. Smokey should stay lovely and warm in there. We have put a link to you in our latest post and also posted it as news on the Cat Blogosphere. That will probably go up within the next hour or so. When you make a post it is a good idea to put your link to that specific post on the Cat Blogosphere too.If you haven't already been there, you can get there via the first link on our link list. Hope you get plenty of visitors.

Hello! I came over from the Cat Blogosphere to meet you all. Particularly nice to meet more gorgeous ginger kitties like myself. I think Tiger and Motor should sign up for the Gorgeous Gingers page (http://gingergang.blogspot.com). I am a fat ginger kitty blogging in London, UK. Come and visit me some time!

Hi there, it's a pleasure to meet you all! Eric and Flynn told us we should come by and meet all you cool cats! That shelter sure is neat, we're mostly indoor cats, but Mommy tries to make sure that we have good shelter when we want to go out. We'll have to try some of these tricks!

Thanks so much! I've been wondering how to help the strays in my neighborhood this winter. I laughed till I cried at the last images of Smokey--because I have an indoor cat who does the same thing with her kitty condo!

Thanks so much for sharing. I have a stray cat who has "adopted our family" and I've been worried about the cold weather season that will be coming. I have 2 very pampered house cats and the stray is too aggressive towards my cats to come join us all inside. He is wonderful with people though. He is scheduled for neutering at the end of the month, so I'll see if that calms him down enough. But for now, he is all outside. Thanks again.

That was great! Going out today to make a shelter for the 4+ 3 new kittens (but hopefully we can catch them and domesticate them) that live in our back yards. Have been able to fix 1 female cat... 1 left to go!!!!Thanks for the tips... did Smokey ever get out???

Hey, found this page when you originally posted the winter shelter. I'm going to make one of those for a feral cat that lives in my yard. Thanks so much for posting it again.

The shelter for warmer days is great too, but if you don't mind me saying so, it would be nice if it had another doorway in case a dog or coyote can get at the cat. This way it can escape and won't just trapped.

I love your shelter and i'm not trying to be negative but my only concern is there is only one way in and out. If a cat is in there and a racoon comes along and wants in then theres going to be trouble. I am wondering if there is another opening on the other end?

Cedar and blankets retain moisture - straw should be used. Can use insulation purchased from home repair store or even styrafoam for insulation. Straw can usually be found at home repair stores as well, if not year yound than near fall/winter months.

Please do not use hay for bedding. I've read it can cause respiratory problems in cats among other things. According to Alleycat Allies: Bedding: Straw resists the wet and keeps a shelter warm, and is the best choice for insulation and bedding. Be sure to use straw—not hay—for feral cat shelters.

Thank you for posting this information. I have a kitty visitor who comes every night exactly at 5:30 pm for dinner. He is so friendly and I was afraid he was lost. After much searching for his family, I did find them only a mile away from my home. They said he got out and never came back. Sadly, they don't want him anymore. I cannot keep him in my house as I already have 3 kitties (indoor only) and the outdoor kitty (who we've named Freddie the Freeloader) will not stay indoors. Actually, when I've tried to lure him onto my porch, he panics and gets very anxious. He just wants to be outside. I will always feed him, but this is an excellent idea for a winter shelter! I had only one extra idea to add. How about putting a heated cat mat in there? Toni

I'm interested in the bin with the simple cut-out, even I can handle that! :-)To re-ask from an earlier comment, is there a concern with critters (raccoon, skunk, opossum) cornering the cat if the shelter has only one entrance/exit? On the other hand, if there are two openings, does that un-do the whole point by allowing air flow to come in and blow away warmth??

Yes straw (not hay which retains water) is definitely the best to use for keeping the cats warm. We have made a dozen shelters so far for the community cats in our area. From what I have read, straw is the best for retaining the cats own body heat. :-)

Use clean STRAW for insulation and bedding (not hay which retains moisture, or towels, blankets etc. they get hard and also retain moisture which can be a health hazard for the cats. Straw is the definitely the best :-)

WE HAVE A BEAUTIFUL CALICO "MUNCHKIN" CAT THAT HAS BEEN AROUND FOR MONTHS NOW. SHE HAS NO COLLAR AND SHE WILL NOT COME NEAR US. WE FEED HER EVERYDAY ON OUR DECK IN THE SAME CORNER. SHE WILL COME TO THE STEP AND SHOW US SHE IS HERE. THEN WHEN WE TAKE OUT THE FOOD SHE RUNS TO THE EDGE OF THE WOODS, WAITING FOR THE FRONT DOOR TO SHUT. THEN SHE WAITS TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE IN THE HOUSE. SHE QUICKLY RUNS TO THE FOOD AND WATER IN HER CORNER. I HAVE TRIED SO MANY TIMES TO GET HER TO COME TO ME SO SHE CAN GET WARM IN THE HOUSE. NO LUCK. I DO NOT THINK SHE BELONGS TO ANYONE AND WE LIVE RURAL SO WE DO NOT HAVE ANY CLOSE NEIGHBORS. WOULD SHE BE AFRAID OF US IF SHE BELONGED TO SOMEONE? I AM TRYING TO GET MY HUSBAND TO HELP ME MAKE AN OUTDOOR SHELTER WITH HEAT. I AM 66 AND CANNOT DO IT BY MYSELF. ALTHOUGH, YOUR IDEAS MAKE ME HAVE MORE FAITH IN MYSELF. THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR COMMENTS!

I used Reflectix insulation - found at home depot and the like.It's flexible and easy to install with some duct tape to the container.Also used a lot of straw inside and a layer of seat cushion foam from Walmart (in the sewing section)between the reflectix and the straw. I put a plant pot "entry way" as a rain/snow deterrent. The entry was facing outside the plastic container and could be caulked to the tub. I cut the bottom out of the plant pot and put duct tape along the edges so that it was smooth for entry. I put catnip inside the tub to encourage visitors. I put an exit hole in the tub on the wall beside the entrance, not opposite. This way if wind is an issue there won't be a direct path from entry to exit. I cut a bit of the foamat the entry and exit to make a flap of sorts for added insulation. Never put food or water in the tub - it attracts predators and compromises the straw's insulation benefits. Sorry, no photo. It's too cold to go outside.